I often get asked on internet forums , facebook groups etc about how would you find genuine match worn football shirts?and where can i get one? I often point them towards Ebay but people have this impression that all match worn football shirts on Ebay are fake....I often get annoyed with this comment because its just not ture!The best advice i can other fellow collectors is "Do your Homework on that shirt on auction"Ask the seller questions like 1...." How did you obtain the shirt?"2... " How long have you had the shirt?"

Remember not many people have genuine contacts with the football club some pretend they do so the most common way of somebody getting hold of a match worn shirt is via a family member , employee of the club kitman etc, charitiy auction, or a named match worn dealer, Player swapMatch worn shirts are hard to obtain at the best of times so somebody selling 12 of the same shirts should really get alarm bells ringing not many genuine shirts escape the football club in a season....Remember the kitman will not supply COA'S or rarely hands out shirts on a consistent basis every shirt at a football club is accountable for and its the kitmans job to make sure every shirt is accountable for , A kitman handing out shirts on a regular basis is going to cost that club money remember a football club is still a business and anybody costing the club money will be delt with so its more then the jobs worth to get people a stream of match worn shirts!!!!

Most genuine sellers will answer the questions if the seller remains tight lipped or answers with defensive answers then alarm bells should be ringing!!!Some Sellers state on auctions that some shirts come with a COA this means a certificate of authenticity but really a COA could really be done in under 2 minutes on any home Pc so most COA'S are not worth the paper its printed on!If shirts does come with a COA then ask the seller the compeny on the COA and google the compeny you can learn a lot from a quick google search which could save you making a costly mistake!!!Some of the big and genuine match worn dealers are

"URMYHERO" And " YOUR HEROES AND LEGENDS"

Remember Match worn football shirts are totally different then the replica version you buy in the shop and included a number of differencesdifferences like fully embroidered club crest , Stiched Numbers to the back of shirt , Printed Wash labels and many other differences depending on shirt and season....A good seller will offer in his description the differences between replica and Match worn on the shirt on auction sale and dont forget just ask the seller the differences....Also join Internet forums and facebook groups to chat to likeminded match worn shirt collectors there are plenty about if you Google search you will come across them and many are free one of the best i have come across is

"MEMORABILINVESTOR.COM"

Over the last few years there has been a number of ways to obtain the blank player spec version of shirt that the players wear and there is a number of collectors that will collect this type of shirt with is whole different hobbie in itself and very rewarding

unfortantly in the wrong hands the blank player spec shirt could be missold as a match worn shirt "a few rotten eggs spring to mind"...

Rememember player spec means made for the players and identical to waht the players wear but never seen the kit roomRemember Player issue will often contain name and numbers and means its been issued to the player on questionThe one way of telling if the shirt you are bidding on is a badged up player spec advertised as match worn check the sellers buying history!!!!If the seller has a history of buying blank player specs , Namesets and sleeve patches then chances are this seller has made the shirt up himself and is adding the match worn to try to get the best asking price again ask at the forums you have joined most rotten egg sellers will get a bad reputation and most collectors will know the seller!!!

The other things you should look out for is signs of wear on the match worn shirt , Pulls , bobbling, mud stains if unwashed remember if match worn most shirts would have survived 90 min's of football and will contain signs of wear just think anybody who plays park football on a sunday coming off the pitch take a look at your own football shirt is it in mint condition i think not!!!!

5 Most COA'S are worthless unless some of the big named dealers have issued them - get googling

6. the one thing with collecting match worn shirts provenance is everything the information history of the shirt and if the Provenance is spot on then depending on the shirt the shirt would cost a lot of money a lot more then a replica version

Collecting match worn football shirts is a very rewarding hobbie and brought me years of joy and hope this short guide will aid you a little!!Good luck and enjoy